Episode 26
The Battle for Distance is the 26th Round of the anime adaptation of Morikawa Jouji's Hajime no Ippo series. Summary Ippo is shown doing some road work in the morning. Meanwhile, Mashiba Kumi brings Mashiba his boxing gear. Mashiba's boss is annoyed that he did not thank her, but tells her that he is a good man, albeit "a bit anti-social". Meanwhile at their respective gyms, both Ippo and Mashiba are in the middle of sparring sessions, with both of them easily outclassing their opponents and impressing spectators. As the fighters finish the sparring, their respective coaches note to themselves that they are going to win. The day of the match arrives. In Ippo's locker room, his gym mates wish him luck and leave. Takamura then points out that Ippo is different from how he usually is before a fight, he notes that he is just sitting, saving energy for the actual match. As the disappointing openers end, everybody in the Kōrakuen Hall gets exited with the entrance of Mashiba, who is soon followed by Ippo. As noted by TV Announcer, predictions on the outcome are 50/50. As they enter the ring and are introduced, Fujii notes that being the final of the tournament, the fight will be six rounds long. Both fighters then go back to their respective corners to wait with their seconds for the start of the match. Each fighter gets advice from their seconds, Kamogawa tells Ippo to keep it as an in-fight while Mashiba's trainer suggests otherwise. The bell rings and the first round begins with Ippo on the offensive. He launches a powerful punch but misses, giving Mashiba the opportunity to retreat and change to his hitman style, causing Ippo to use his trademark peek-a-boo style. Ippo cautiously measures the distance and gets closer to his opponent, but is then hit in the face by a flicker. Now confused about Mashiba's reach, Ippo tries to get close in once more, but is again hit in the face. Mashiba overwhelms Ippo with his usual knockout pattern and throws a chopping right, which Ippo barely avoids by holding on to the ropes. The fight continues with Mashiba outclassing Ippo with his repeated flicker jab, despite the latter's attempts to get out of his opponents range. Mashiba once again attempts his usual knockout pattern, but his final attack (chopping right) is stopped by Ippo's solid guard. Ippo is repeatedly hit by the flickers, but as noted by his gym mates who were originally telling him to calm down, he begins to become use to them and soon starts dodging them, thus avoiding serious damage. Ippo who is now swaying, manages to get into Mashiba's zone and as he is about to deliver a powerful hit, the bell ends the second round. The round is scored 10-9 in favour of Mashiba and the referee sends the fighters to their corners. Kamogawa, tells Ippo that he must avoid taking anymore hits, and that he must get into Mashiba's zone in order to be able to damage him. In the opposite corner, Mashiba's trainer tells him he must avoid Ippo's destructive power. Mashiba laughs it off, saying that it is that power what will destroy Ippo. The second round begins with Ippo utilising his weaving, making it impossible for Mashiba to land a proper hit. Despite the audiences expectations, Mashiba continues to use his hitman style. Ippo successfully puts Mashiba against the ropes and attempts an uppercut, but the latter dodges. Realising that such move can not work against someone of Mashiba's height, Ippo goes for the body. With Mashiba still cornered, Ippo uses the opportunity to attack his body with a right hook, but is stopped by an elbow block. Manga and Anime differences *Kamogawa telling Ippo that his fist is already healed is omitted from the anime. Category:Anime Episodes Category:Season 1 Episodes